Boy Sailing Down A River Uncovers A Treasure That Changes His Life Forever

Picture this: you’re walking down the street when something out of place catches your eye. As you get a closer look, you realize it’s something very valuable — a rare baseball card or something. You can’t help but smile wide because your day just went from ordinary to extraordinary within seconds. Sounds too good to be true, huh?

While one young boy was sailing down a river in Austria, he spotted something odd floating in the water. Naturally, he submerged himself for a closer inspection and soon realized he’d stumbled across something far more precious than your typical river debris…

The Danube River is the second longest river in Europe, and it cuts through ten different countries, including Vienna, the capital of Austria. And as one young Austrian boy discovered, the river sometimes contains much more than just water and fish.

Christoph Sammer / Flickr

It was early in the morning when the young boy and his father went sailing down the Danube. It was a scenic journey they’d taken dozens of times before, and the weather was perfect for an enjoyable day on the water.

The duo cruised along the calm water, waving to other boats as they passed. Not long into their journey, however, the boy told his father to slow the boat. He saw something odd floating in the water nearby.

As they maneuvered the boat closer, they were still unsure about what the mysterious objects were, but they could tell they were little bits of paper of some kind. No one was in the immediate area, so where could they have come from?

Channel 4 News

Under the supervision of his father, the boy jumped into the river to gather up all the paper. There seemed to be hundreds of rectangular pieces. As soon as the boy finally grabbed one and looked at it, he screamed out to his father…

There, floating in the river all around the young boy, was a plethora of cash! After the boy was finished gathering all of the money, he and his father made an important phone call.

Mindtake

The boy’s father contacted the local authorities. The police were quick to respond, and they too were amazed at the boy’s discovery. This was a lot of moolah to find floating in the river.

Austrian law states when money is found and turned into the authorities, the finder gets to keep five to ten percent of the total amount, assuming the money isn’t linked to illegal dealings.

Channel 4 News

And this young boy found roughly $115,000! The police weren’t able to link it to any criminal activity, and once the money was brought into the station and completely dried, the boy and his father received their cut: $11,500!

Channel 4 News

That boy and his father sure were lucky that morning, but believe it or not, they’re far from the only people who have ever come across something valuable. In February 2018, Florida resident Robby Robinson had quite an eventful day…

Robinson Home & Outdoor Inc. / Facebook

Robby owned his own pest control business, and one afternoon, while he was traveling to a client’s residence, he saw a large bag lying on the side of the road. So, he pulled his truck over and peeked inside…

Robby’s jaw dropped as he stared down at stacks of cold hard cash! There was also a bank receipt in the bag with the address of the bank where the money had recently been withdrawn. Robby immediately headed to the address on the receipt.

WOFL

As soon as Robby told one of the bank tellers what happened, they couldn’t believe how honest he was; most people would’ve kept the cash and never said a word. Robby snapped a picture of the bag before he left and posted it to Facebook, hoping the rightful owner would eventually claim it. Soon enough…

A man named Robbie Lewis saw the post and immediately responded. The sack of money was his, he said, and he’d been a nervous wreck ever since he lost it. Soon enough, the rightful owner got his money, and both men rested easy.

Robby Robinson / Facebook

Those two stories seemed almost too good to be true, huh? Well, then you’ll find this third instance even more unbelievable! Joe Cornell of Fresno, California, was going about his day in early 2014 when something startled him…

KMPH

As he was walking to a local deli to grab lunch, he saw a Brinks armored truck parked in front of a bank. Police officers loaded up the back of it with sacks of cash. He thought nothing of it, until…

Vosizneias

The truck drove off and there, on the curb, was one remaining bag that was never placed in the back! Joe was the only person who noticed it, so he walked over and opened it up. Sure enough, it was full of $125,000.

Michael Hozas / Twitter

Now, it certainly crossed Joe’s mind to possibly take even just a small bit of the money. However, Joe was trying to turn his life around. He was living at the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center trying to kick a drug habit, and now that his honesty was being put to the test, he was going to ace the exam.

Salvation Army

Joe picked up the bag and brought it directly into the bank. The bank employees were in shock such an oversight was made during the loading of the truck. The Brinks Company was so thankful for Joe’s honesty that they rewarded him with a $5,000 debit card!

Joe Cornell, much like Robby Robinson and the father and son from Austria, chose to go the honest route when it came to their discoveries. In doing so, not only did they feel better about themselves, but they earned some good karma as well!